coronavirus

In December 2019, a new and aggressive form of respiratory infection was discovered in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, and recently has been named COVID–19. The causative virus is a coronavirus named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and of the same family as the virus that caused the SARS epidemic in 2002-2003. By March 11, it was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.